The popularity of digital audio applications continues to rise in the United States and around the world. For example, many consumer devices are now available for facilitating playback of digital audio files, such as Moving Picture Experts Group Layer III (“MP3”) files. Also, many consumer devices have been developed to handle streaming audio bitstreams, such as devices for providing access to Internet radio stations.
A problem with conventional digital audio applications is that disruptions in the reception of audio information can be noticed by the listeners. For example, frames containing audio information may be delayed or lost when being transmitted over a network. If the audio information is being received and played back in real-time, the missing audio information could cause silent periods or other glitches to occur in the playback. These silent periods or other glitches represent artifacts that may be easily noticeable to listeners, which may interfere with the listeners' enjoyment of the playback.